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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876908">Thin Blue Line</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spaced_Out_Cadet/pseuds/Spaced_Out_Cadet'>Spaced_Out_Cadet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Aftermath of Violence, Domestic Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Escaping Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirtationship, Friendship/Love, Healing, Healing Sex, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Interspecies Sex, Knight in C-Sec Armor, Mutual Attraction, Past Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Threats of Violence, True Love, True Mates, Verbal Abuse, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:21:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spaced_Out_Cadet/pseuds/Spaced_Out_Cadet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Love hurts. That’s what Kaitlyn Baxter had always believed. Engaged to an up-and-coming Alliance Officer, Jeremy Dreschner, Kait believed pain was just a part of life. Her job as an ER nurse at Huerta Memorial, however, causes  her to cross paths with Rhys Tiberon—a C-Sec officer who has found himself drawn to her in a way that isn’t entirely appropriate. Upon learning of her circumstances, however, he becomes determined to show her what real love is supposed to feel like.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Asari Character(s)/Original Male Human Character(s), Original Female Human Character(s)/Original Male Human Character(s), Original Female Human Character(s)/Original Male Turian Character(s), Original Human Character(s)/Original Turian Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Thin Blue Line</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>***TRIGGER WARNING***</p><p>This fic will at times contain graphic depictions of violence and/or abuse. If this is something that bothers you, or causes you duress or anxiety, please don’t read.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaitlyn Baxter stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her full lips set in a grim line as she carefully dabbed concealer over the purple discoloration that had bloomed beneath her right eye and along her cheekbone. She winced in pain as she tentatively smoothed the flesh-toned cream along the tender skin before grabbing her makeup sponge and attempting to blend it in with her foundation. Her makeup was much heavier than what she normally preferred to wear, but this morning it was necessary. The bruises would fade, they always did. The mental and emotional scars, however, ran much deeper and were harder to mend. </p><p>Kaitlyn sighed heavily and quickly put the finishing touches on her face before twisting her blonde hair up into a bun at the nape of her neck and carefully brushing her bangs to the side to further camouflage her injury. She worked efficiently, putting her things away and cleaning the counter, before straightening and squaring her shoulders. She took a step back and raised her gaze to meet her own haunted face in the mirror’s reflection. As she’d done countless times before, she studied herself with a critical eye. </p><p>It wasn’t perfect. If she looked closely enough, she could still see a shadow of the bruise where the damage was the worst, right beneath her eye. If she kept her head down and avoided too much face-to-face chatter she could probably make it through her shift with no one noticing or commenting. If anyone said anything, she’d had plenty of practice making up excuses. She forced her face to relax into a smile.</p><p>“Oh, this?” She gave a self-deprecating chuckle and rolled her hazel eyes, taking on a nonchalant expression. “You know me. I was trying to pull a box down from the top of my closet and ended up catching it with my face.”</p><p>The lie rolled so easily off of her tongue that she almost scared herself. Lying was so much easier than facing the truth. She knew it wasn’t right. On some level, she even knew that she probably didn’t even deserve it. She’d tried to leave. Several times, in fact, but something always drew her back. Fear. Threats. The lack of support from the people who were closest to her. The uncertainty of whether she could actually make it on her own. She felt suffocated, trapped in a situation she had no idea how to escape, not without causing more problems for herself in the long term. </p><p>Sighing heavily once more, Kaitlyn turned from the mirror, flipped off the light, and exited the bathroom on silent feet. She padded quietly through the dark, pausing only to slip on her shoes and grab her work bag. She moved cautiously through the hall, peeking around the corner into the living area only to find it empty. She released a breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding, the tense line of her shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. She was alone in the apartment.</p><p>Jeremy had left, but the reminder of his presence remained. The empty beer bottles and broken glass that littered the coffee table and floor around the sofa suggested that he had stayed up well after she’d retreated to the relative safety of the bedroom the night before. It should have been a fun evening of celebrating her fiancé’s promotion from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander, but it had quickly devolved into an alcohol fueled nightmare that had resulted in the pair of them leaving the party early and a black eye on her end.</p><p>She wasn’t even sure what she’d done to invoke his wrath this time around. She’d been having a pleasant conversation with one of Jeremy’s fellow Alliance officers about a new movie that was coming out soon—a throwback to Earth’s 1980s action genre that she was excited to see—when Jeremy had came up from behind and grabbed her roughly by the arm, his fingers biting sharply into her flesh as he bid his colleague goodnight and steered her hurriedly toward the door. He’d remained silent and brooding as they waited outside for the sky car. She was afraid to ask what had put him in such a mood. She could smell the liquor on him and knew that any conversation would have been useless. </p><p>She hadn’t put up a struggle when he’d forcefully shoved her into the back seat of the cab. It was always worse when she fought back. She hadn’t protested when he’d climbed in after her and grabbed her face in the crushing vice of his hand, his fingers pressing deeply into the hollows of her cheeks and making her jaws ache. His face had been a hair’s breadth from her own, the stench of alcohol threatening to make her gag, but she’d remained outwardly calm despite the fear that twisted and writhed in her gut.</p><p>‘Don’t antagonize him,’ the voice in her head warned. ‘Don’t make this any worse for yourself.’</p><p>“What the fuck was that?” He’d demanded, the seething anger in his voice sending a lance of terror straight down her spine. </p><p>Her hazel eyes widened, and she’d shook her head as best she could within his grasp. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”</p><p>“Don’t play stupid, you fucking slut!” Jeremy tightened his grip painfully before releasing her, only to shove her across the back seat. Her head slammed into the window with a sickening crack. “You were all over that guy!”</p><p>“I was not!” She struggled to right herself in the seat, one hand coming to cradle her now throbbing head. “We were just talking! About-about that movie we wanted to see!”</p><p>“Right!” Jeremy sneered. “Save me the bullshit, Kaitlyn! You do this every fucking time! I can’t take you anywhere without you acting like a fucking whore! How do you think that makes me look? Everyone seeing the woman I’m going to marry walking around behaving like a bitch in heat?”</p><p>She couldn’t help it. The tears came then, the hateful words cutting right through her. In the back of her mind, a tiny voice wondered if she had unintentionally behaved provocatively. “I didn’t mean to,” she cried. “I swear, we were just talking about the m-movie! I’m-I’m sorry!” </p><p>“No, you’re not. You’re not sorry,” Jeremy promised, “but you will be.”</p><p>Kaitlyn shuddered, blinking away the horrible memory, not wishing to relive any more of the ordeal. It was over and done, the evidence of how the rest of the previous night had progressed still throbbing through the right side of her face in time with the beating of her heart. Instead, she busied herself by picking up the mess surrounding the sofa. She tried not to think about the hateful words. She tried not to focus on the pain. She worked robotically; the movements practiced and memorized over countless mornings spent just like this one. </p><p>She dumped the mess in the wastebasket in the kitchen and tossed what empty bottles she could salvage into the recycling bin. She moved to the refrigerator, rummaging through its contents and reminding herself that she needed to take care of the grocery shopping before cobbling together a quick lunch and shoving it in her bag. She hefted the bag up onto her shoulder and took one last sweeping gaze around the apartment to make sure everything was back in its rightful place. Jeremy hated it when the apartment was messy and it wouldn’t do to have him come home to a dirty house. Satisfied with what she saw—and hoping Jeremy would be as well—she hurried out the door and hoped she wouldn’t be late for the start of her shift.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXX</p><p>The Emergency Department at Huerta Memorial stayed busy around the clock. The Citadel was, after all, full of different species that kept different schedules and the station itself never really slept. It was a high pressure environment, but Kaitlyn reveled in the chaos. She found the fast pace and variety exciting, surely more interesting than the small town hospital back on Earth where she’d first started her nursing career. It was definitely more challenging and she could honestly say she’d learned more about other species than she’d ever dreamed. Plus, working double shifts was better than being at home. </p><p>Anything was better than being at home. Here, Kaitlyn was in her element. She was an exceptional nurse. She didn’t have to walk on eggshells. She didn’t have to be in constant fear she’d say or do the wrong thing. She didn’t have to be on constant guard. Yes, there was the occasional difficult patient or unexpected tragedy, but she could deal with those as they came. Professionalism was her crutch, and it carried her safely through those difficult situations as they occurred, mostly. She didn’t have that luxury when she was at home with Jeremy. </p><p>“Hey, Kait. Gotta sec?”</p><p>Kaitlyn blinked away her dark thoughts and looked up from her charting to smile at her asari colleague. “Sure, Geana. What’s up?”</p><p>“Doc Orban said he could use your help in exam three if you’re free.”</p><p>“I’m on it,” Kaitlyn answered as she put the finishing touches on her chart note, locked her terminal, and stood up. “Thanks, G.”</p><p>“Anytime. Hey,” the violet hued asari called after the human before she could wander too far down the hallway. “Are you coming out with us after shift for drinks?”</p><p>“Uh,” Kait paused, fidgeting slightly, and turned to face the other woman. “I, uh, I can’t. Not tonight. Maybe next time?”</p><p>Geana frowned. “That’s what you said last time, and the time before that, and the time before that.”</p><p>“I know.” Kaitlyn sighed. “I just...Jeremy is home and—”</p><p>“Ah, ah, ah!” Geana held up her hand to silence the rest of her explanation. “Say no more. I get it. You’d rather be at home with that hunky man of yours.”</p><p>Kait shifted uncomfortably. “Something like that.”</p><p>“Next time,” the asari agreed. “You can invite Jeremy to come with.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Kaitlyn awkwardly agreed. “I, uh, Dr. Orban’s waiting.”</p><p>Before her fellow nurse could say more, Kaitlyn had turned and hurried down the hall toward her destination. Pausing just outside the door, she felt her heart stutter at sound of the rich baritone that filtered through the closed door of the exam room. It was full, deep in timbre, and underlain with what were probably the most beautiful sub vocal harmonies she’d ever heard in her year and a half of living on the Citadel. Not yet even in the same space as the speaker, she could already feel the melodic vibrations working their way down from her chest to pool low in her belly. </p><p>Of all the days he could have shown up in the emergency department, it had to be this one. She didn’t have to open the door to see who was on the other side. Her mind was already busy conjuring up a delectable image for her to drool over. She vividly imagined the bright green eyes and cocky grin that would greet her upon stepping through the door. The bright red slash of clan markings perfectly bisecting a face that was completely alien, but oh so alluring at the very same time. A tall, broad-shouldered turian. Impressive carapace tapering down to an impossibly narrow waist and long, lean legs, all exquisitely packaged in carefully polished, blue C-Sec armor. A notorious flirt. And that voice.</p><p>God, that voice. </p><p>A subtle heat warmed her blood and reddened her face in embarrassment as she raised her hand to knock on the door.</p><p>“Enter,” another voice answered, obviously salarian in nature.</p><p>“Doctor Orban,” Kaitlyn greeted with a polite smile as she entered the room, deliberately avoiding looking toward the exam table where she knew her patient sat watching her with that damned grin. “Geana said you wanted to see me?”</p><p>“Indeed,” Dr. Orban quickly replied. “Officer Tiberon sustained slight head trauma. No major damage, but will require cleaning and bandage. Figured you could manage. Much more serious patients need attention and you aren’t allergic.”</p><p>Kaitlin could have sworn she heard the turian she was studiously ignoring stifle a laugh as she nodded in agreement. “I can do that.”</p><p>“Excellent.” The salarian smiled. “Prescription for antibiotic ointment and pain medication already entered into system. Send off to pharmacy when done.”</p><p>“Yes, sir,” Kaitlyn nodded. “Will do.”</p><p>“Officer Tiberon,” Dr. Orban faced his patient once more. “Minor wound. No complications expected, but come back if any dizziness or blurred vision. Otherwise, will leave in Nurse Baxter’s capable hands.”</p><p>“Thanks, doc,” the C-Sec Officer reached out to shake the doctor’s hand. “I’m sure Nurse Baxter is more than capable of handling me.”</p><p>Kaitlyn couldn’t help but flush slightly at his words.</p><p>Without another word, Dr. Orban hurried for the door. Kaitlyn couldn’t be sure, but she was almost certain the damned salarian had winked at her before the door closed behind him. She shook her head and, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, set about gathering the supplies she’d need to clean the officer’s wound and get him bandaged up and on his way. She worked in silence for a moment, hyperaware of the sharp eyes that watched her every move. </p><p>“So,” that deep rumbling baritone finally interrupted the quiet that had fallen over the room. “No dextro allergies, huh?”</p><p>“Nope,” she replied, popping the ‘p’. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, not missing the wide, turian grin that graced his face. “They allergy test all staff prior to employment, just in case.”</p><p>“Good to know.” A teasing lilt entered his voice. “C-Sec does the same, and I’m proud to announce that I’m levo-allergy free.”</p><p>“Well,” Kaitlyn couldn’t help but chuckle, “congratulations.”</p><p>“Thanks.” He watched her work, a pleasant hum resonating in his chest. “Have you ever considered field testing the results?”</p><p>“Field testing?” She gave him a questioning glance as she set up her supplies.</p><p>“Yeah,” he purred, leaning forward slightly to catch her gaze. “A tiny exchange of bodily fluids with a willing subject, such as myself, just to make sure the test is accurate? Possibly over a nice dinner? You know,” his grin widened, “for science.”</p><p>She raised a brow at him, ignoring the dinner invitation. “Do you often offer to swap bodily fluids with random females for the sake of science?”</p><p>“No,” he chuckled. “Not often, and only for the females I find especially intriguing. I do have standards, you know.”</p><p>“Right.” Kaitlyn huffed in amusement and shook her head. “My apologies.”</p><p>He was dangerous, this one. She’d met him not long after she’d starting working in the Emergency Department when he and his partner had brought in a suspect to get stitched up after having dived through a window in an ill-fated attempt to avoid arrest. He’d been to the ER many times since, always with some service related bump or bruise or in the company of a criminal foolish enough to take on C-Sec only to injure themselves. He was there often enough that they’d developed a sort of flirtationship with one another. It was something that she looked forward to as much as she dreaded whenever he was there.</p><p>She’d never considered herself a xenophile. Sure, she could appreciate the visual aesthetic of a very good looking alien, but to be attracted to one herself? It wasn’t something she’d ever given much thought to before coming to live on the Citadel. She had Jeremy, after all. They’d been high school sweethearts, and he was the only man she’d ever been with. Though, she suspected the same wasn’t true for him. Sure, he had a temper when he drank, but he loved her. He’d asked her to marry him, and she’d accepted his proposal. He loved her. He had to, right?</p><p>Jeremy’s words from the night before floated though her mind. Behaving like a bitch in heat. Shame clawed at her insides at the thought and her bemused expression shifted to one of self-disgust. What was she doing? What was she thinking? Flirting with a patient? This was exactly the type of thing Jeremy was always talking about. He had a right to be angry with her, didn’t he? With a disgusted grunt and more than a little self-loathing, Kaitlyn dragged her tray of supplies over to the side of the exam table, determined to get to work and get Officer Tiberon out of her Emergency Department as quickly as was humanly possible.</p><p>Sensing the change in mood, the turian’s voice took on a concerned tone. “Everything alright?”</p><p>“Everything’s fine.” She flashed him a tight smile as she snapped on a pair of gloves and gently angled his head to the side to get a better look as his injury. Honestly, there wasn’t much to see. A tiny laceration lay between the seams of the plates of his brow and forehead and would have been nearly invisible were it not for the small amount of congealed blue blood that had gathered in the crevice. It wasn’t something that looked like it warranted a trip to the ER, and he probably could have gotten by with a good scrub with soap and water and a band-aid at home, but he was here now and it was her duty to tend to him.</p><p>“So, what happened this time?” She asked, keeping her voice professional. “Bad guy clobber you over the head with a baseball bat?”</p><p>“Nothing that exciting.” He laughed, the sound going straight through her. “Me and a couple guys from the department play in a clawball league. Have you ever been to a game?”</p><p>“Me?” Kaitlyn shook her head. “No, not in person, but I’ve seen a game or two on television while I was channel surfing. It looks like it would be fun.”</p><p>“It is,” he agreed. “You should come out sometime. I think you’d enjoy it. If nothing else, I could use a little extra moral support up in the stands.”</p><p>Kaitlyn made a noncommittal noise as she set about gently cleaning the wound.</p><p>“Anyway,” he continued with a self-deprecating chuckle, “we tried to get a little practice in this morning for a tournament that’s coming up and I guess we got a little overzealous and I ended up taking a pretty good hit to the face. I didn’t even know I was hurt until one guy told me I was bleeding. My Shift Captain is also on the team and he insisted I get it looked at before heading out on patrol. I’m not complaining, though. I get to spend a little time with a beautiful woman, so that’s a win in my book.”</p><p>He was doing it again. Kaitlyn suppressed a shiver and shook her head, “Officer Tiberon...”</p><p>“Rhys,” he corrected with a mischievous grin. “I’ve told you a hundred times, you can call me Rhys. You’ve  helped patch me up enough times that we should at least be on a first name basis by now.”</p><p>“Rhys,” Kaitlyn began again. “You know, there are a lot better ways to get a woman’s attention than constantly getting hurt.”</p><p>“Apparently not,” he teased. “Spirits know I’ve tried.”</p><p>Kaitlyn sighed again heavily and went about applying an antimicrobial gel to the slight wound. She worked in relative peace for a moment before that familiar deep rumble again interrupted the silence.</p><p>“You never answered my question.”</p><p>Kaitlyn hummed, trying her best to concentrate on what she was doing and ignore everything else around her. “What question was that?”</p><p>“Dinner.” All teasing left Rhys’ tone, replaced by a hopeful seriousness. “A new place opened up in the Kithoi Ward a couple weeks ago. They cater to all species. I haven’t been there yet, but I hear the food is excellent. Let me take you out. We can have a nice dinner together and maybe catch a movie. There’s a new action film coming out this weekend, if you’re game. I think we’d have a really great time, Kait. My treat. What do you say?”</p><p>Kaitlyn stilled, her heart pounding and her mouth going dry. Did he just ask her out? On an actual date?</p><p>‘You fucking slut.’</p><p>No. That was impossible. She couldn’t even allow herself to entertain the idea. </p><p>‘Acting like a fucking whore.’</p><p>She had a fiancé. Jeremy wasn’t perfect, but she had made him a promise. She’d agreed to be his wife. His one and only. What sort of wife-to-be went out on dates with  dashingly handsome, devastatingly charming C-Sec Officers—non-human ones at that—after making such a serious commitment to someone else?</p><p>‘A bitch in heat.’</p><p>Kaitlyn quickly taped a bandage over the small cut and stepped away. Shaking her head, she turned her back on him as she slipped her gloves off and tossed them in the biohazard bin. “You know I can’t do that. I’ve told you I don’t know how many times that I’m engaged. I highly doubt my fiancé would appreciate me having dinner and seeing a movie with another man.”</p><p>Rhys trilled, an attempt to cover the sound of his disappointment, even though her human ears wouldn’t have recognized the noise, anyway. “That’s easy enough to fix.”</p><p>Kaitlyn scoffed and turned to face him once more. “You’re suggesting that I  break up with the man I’m going to marry just so I can go out to dinner with you?”</p><p>Rhys shrugged, his trademark grin back on his face, mandibles splayed wide. “Works for me. Pick you up at seven?”</p><p>Kaitlyn gaped at him. “You’re crazy.”</p><p>“It’s part of my charm. In all seriousness, though,” his voice took on that hopeful edge once more, “think about it, okay? I mean it. I really think we’d have an amazing time.”</p><p>Kaitlyn looked at him, wide eyed, before swallowing hard and ducking her head. “I, um, we’re all finished up here. I’ll update your record and send your prescriptions to the pharmacy. You can pick them up on your way out.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Rhys stood, towering over the small woman. He was disappointed at being shot down once again, but wouldn’t push it. He was an optimist, and there was always next time, he told himself. He’d never really understood the appeal of interspecies relationships, but there was something about Kaitlyn Baxter that he found incredibly appealing. He was willing to be patient. “I appreciate your help, as always.” </p><p>He opened his mouth to say more, when something else caught his attention. He’d noticed something off about her appearance, but hadn’t been sure exactly what it was that was bothering him so much. Now, looking down at her from his new vantage point he could clearly see the bruising beneath her eye that spread out along her cheekbone. She’d done an admirable job trying to cover it with a heavy application of the face-paint human woman were so fond of using, but not a good enough job in order to escape his notice.</p><p>He took a step toward her. “What happened to your face?”</p><p>Kaitlyn’s head snapped up, her expression akin to a deer caught in the headlights. “What?”</p><p>“Your face.” He took another step toward her and, without thinking, reached out and carefully hooked a talon beneath her chin and tilted her face up so he could better survey the damage. “Did someone hit you?”</p><p>“No!” She denied, feeling the first inklings of panic fester. Caught off guard, she stumbled over her carefully practiced lie. “No one hit me. I...there was a box, and I was trying to get it down and—”</p><p>“Does the box wear an Alliance Officer’s signet ring?” He brought his other hand up and gently brushed the backs of his knuckles along the injured side of her face. “I can see the imprint on your cheekbone.”</p><p>Kaitlyn batted at his hands and backed away. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“I’m a cop,” he stated in a low, dangerous tone. “I’ve responded to more domestic violence situations than I care to think about. I know what a punch to the face looks like. Who did this to you?”</p><p>Kaitlyn jerked away as the turian reached for her again. She hurried toward the door and yanked it open. “We’re done here. Don’t forget to pick up your meds.”</p><p>“Was it him?” Rhys demanded, making no attempt to leave. “Your fiancé? Does his Chain of Command know he goes home at night and beats on his mate?”</p><p>“He doesn’t beat me,” she hissed. </p><p>“So, what happened to your face, Kait?” Rhys took a couple steps toward the woman. “I’m serious. If there’s anything going on at home you need to talk about—”</p><p>“Jeremy is a good man, alright?” Kaitlyn snapped, “He’s been under a lot of stress lately.”</p><p>“And that gives him the right to punch the woman that he supposedly loves in the face?” Rhys’ mandibles pulled tight to his face, nearly trembling with the anger he suddenly felt flooding his body. Protective instincts he hadn’t even know he’d had were firing off in his brain, demanding that he do something, anything, to make this situation right. “How long has this been going on? Has he done this before? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s happening.”</p><p>“You don’t even know me,” she spat. “You know nothing about me or my life and I don’t appreciate you walking in here and making assumptions about things that don’t involve you! Nothing is happening and I don’t need your help.” Her voice bordered on the edge of tears as she gestured frantically for him to exit the room. “I need you to leave.”</p><p>“Kait...”  He took a tentative step in her direction, hands splayed before himself in a gesture of peace. “Believe it or not, I do genuinely care about you. I know we haven’t spent any time with one another beyond these walls, but I’d like to think that we’re, at the very least, friends. If he’s hurting you, I can help make it stop.”</p><p>“I’m not having this conversation. Not with you. We aren’t friends. I am your nurse and you are my patient. I’ve cleaned and bandaged your wound, and now I need this room for other patients, Officer Tiberon.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. “Leave. Please.”</p><p>The look on her face told him that the conversation was over. He’d seen that same look on the faces of other women much too often in his line of work. Bruised, battered, and bloody, refusing to press charges on their attacker because of some misplaced sense of loyalty. Nothing he could say ever changed their minds. He couldn’t make them see that anger and jealously didn’t equate to love. Some argued that they had nowhere else to go and would be out on the streets if they dared to speak up. Still others were so used to the abuse that they knew nothing different and simply accepted it as a way of life. </p><p>This, however, felt personal for him. He knew Kaitlyn Baxter, not as well as he would have liked, nor under the circumstances he would have preferred, but he did care about this small human female who had inadvertently captured his attention. He wondered which category she fit into. Did she truly love the man that did this to her? Did she stay out of what she perceived to be necessity? Did she not believe she deserved better, someone that would treat her right? Someone, perhaps,  not dissimilar to himself?</p><p>Rage and the need to protect still coursed through his veins, but he grit his teeth and nodded. “Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. “I can’t force you to talk to me. I’ll leave, but under one condition.” He opened up his omni-tool and quickly tapped in a few commands, sending a push notification to Katilyn’s own. “I don’t care what time it is. If you need me,” he raised his head to look her square in the eye, “you call me. Understand?”</p><p>Kaitlyn stared back at him for a long moment. Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach knotted as she pulled her gaze away to look down at her own omni-tool. There, sitting in her notifications, was Officer Tiberon’s work and home contact information. She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I won’t need you.” She gestured again toward the door. “Have a nice day, Officer.”</p><p>With a defeated sigh, Rhys moved toward the exit, pausing as he came close to her and grasping one of her small hands in one of his much larger ones. “I mean it, Kait. Call me anytime. Day or night.” </p><p>He was so close that Kaitlyn had to crane her neck back to look at him properly. Even through his armor she could feel the body heat radiating off of him, warm and inviting. His green eyes shown with sincerity. There was no pity in his expression, no disgust, only a look of worried determination and concern for her wellbeing. He didn’t know her. He couldn’t possibly understand her situation. He was a cop. He was just trying to do his job, what his oath to uphold his duty required of him. He didn’t really care. No one really cared...except for Jeremy. Jeremy was the only one who cared. He’d told her as much himself. </p><p>With that thought in mind, Kaitlyn  shook off his grip and slipped out the door.</p><p>“There she is!”</p><p>Geana’s excited voice carried down the hall and had Kait spinning around to see what was going on. Her eyes widened and her heart nearly stopped beating in her chest as her gaze landed on the nurse’s station. Geana stood there, smiling widely, waving at her. Next to her, dressed impeccably in his dress blues, stood Jeremy with an enormous bouquet of red roses in hand. Kaitlyn was all too aware of the hulking mass of turian that had suddenly appeared next to her in the hallway, of the piercing green eyes that trailed slowly over her face, of the almost menacing growl that filled her ears as he, too, turned to look down the hall. A shaky smile formed on Kait’s face as she raised her hand to wave back and started in their direction.</p><p>“Look who’s here!” Geana’s sing-song voice rang in Kait’s ears as she drew close. “I told him you were with a patient, but he insisted on waiting for you.”</p><p>“What can I say?” Jeremy smiled, his baby blue eyes sparkling as he bent to press a kiss to Kaitlyn’s cheek—the cheek that hadn’t been on the receiving end of the previous night’s violence. “I didn’t get to say goodbye before I left this morning. You were still asleep and I hated to wake you.” He pressed the bouquet into her arms. “I brought you these.”</p><p>“Oh,” A small, genuine smile found its way onto her lips. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”</p><p>“Not half as beautiful as you are.” Jeremy reached out and carefully tucked a wayward piece of hair behind her ear. “I was hoping, if you’re not too busy, that you’d let me take you out for an early lunch. I made reservations at that fusion sushi joint you like so much.”</p><p>“Wow, um...” Kaitlyn bit her lip. “I don’t—I’m not sure I can get away...”</p><p>“Go,” Geana encouraged. “I’ll cover for you.”</p><p>Kait looked at the other woman, wide-eyed. “Are—are you sure?”</p><p>“I’m positive,” the asari insisted as she reached for the roses. “Give me those. I’ll put them in water for you.”</p><p>”Uh, okay...” Kaitlyn passed the flowers to her colleague. “Thanks, G.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Jeremy grinned at the other woman and winked, causing her to blush a pretty shade of purple as he wrapped an arm around Kaitlyn’s waist and pulled her close. “Thanks, Geana. I owe you one.”</p><p>“Anytime,” the asari sighed dreamily, hugging the flowers to her chest.</p><p>“Kait,” Rhys’ angry growl cut through the romantic ambiance of the moment like a bucket of ice water. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”</p><p>“Kay, baby,” Jeremy’s  jovial demeanor seemed to falter slightly as he took notice of the law enforcement  officer in their midst. His eyes roved up and down the turian’s heavily armored form, lingering on the C-Sec insignia and the service pistol strapped to his hip. “Who’s this?”</p><p>“I’m Kait’s friend,” Rhys answered in a tone he reserved for the lowest of the low-lifes he arrested. “I’m assuming you’re her fiancé?”</p><p>”Jeremy,” Kaitlyn immediately sobered and stepped in, “this is Officer Tiberon. Officer Tiberon,” she quickly  introduced, “this is Lieutenant Commander Jeremy Dreschner...my fiancé. Officer Tiberon had a little incident this morning and needed patching up, but everything’s fine now.” </p><p>Rhys barely heard her hurried explanation. He was fixated on the man standing next to her, on the arm wrapped around her middle, on the hand settled possessively into the dip of her waist and the officers’ signet ring that gleamed in the overhead lights. With no small amount of effort, he managed to pull his eyes up to the man’s face. He was handsome by human standards, he supposed. Tall, well-built for a human, dark hair and light eyes. He looked professional and well put together in his carefully tailored and pressed uniform. Judging from his behavior, one would assume he was an attentive and doting mate. It was the cocky gleam in his eyes and the smirk on his lips, a tiny quirk of the mouth that spoke volumes of his inflated sense of self-importance, that had him seeing red, however. Rhys wanted to smack it off his face.</p><p>”Ah,” Jeremy nodded. His smile reappeared, causing a dimple to crease his left cheek, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m sorry to hear about that, but you definitely wandered into the right place.” He gave Kaitlyn a squeeze. “Kay has an amazing knack for taking care of  people and making them feel better.”</p><p>“Yeah, she does.” Rhys stood a bit taller, his eyes narrowing and his mandibles splaying slightly away from his face and presenting a much clearer view of the sharp teeth hidden behind them—an instinctual warning posture. An almost menacing thrum had entered his sub vocals. He was an apex predator and he wasn’t about to let this scumbag forget it. “It’s nice to see she has someone taking such good care of her, too.”</p><p>The smile melted from the human’s face. In its place, a tight-lipped challenging expression settled across his features. He visibly tensed. “What is that supposed to mean?”</p><p>Rhys shrugged. “You tell me.”</p><p>Kaitlyn blanched. She wrapped her arms around Jeremy’s bicep, giving him a squeeze, all while looking desperately at the turian, silently pleading for him to shut his mouth and walk away. “We should go,” she gave a gentle tug. “My break isn’t long and if you made a reservation we don’t want to miss it.” </p><p>“Yeah,” Jeremy seemed to realize he was standing in the middle of a hospital hallway essentially engaging in a standoff with a member of C-Sec and that it wasn’t a good look. He forced himself to relax. He swallowed, his throat bobbing up and down as he nodded, but not breaking eye contact with the turian. “I asked them to save their nicest table. Only the best for my girl.”</p><p>“Lucky her,” Rhys deadpanned. He dropped his gaze to look at the woman, his voice taking on a gentle, pleading buzz. The last thing he wanted to see was her leaving on the arm of the man who had hurt her. “Kait...I just want to talk.”</p><p>Kaitlyn shook her head. “I have to run.” She tried to make her tone conversational. “You should be good to go, Officer. A copy of your discharge instructions should have been forwarded to your omni-tool by Dr. Orban and your meds should be waiting at the pharmacy.”</p><p>“Kait,” he tried again, “please.”</p><p>“Have a great day, Officer Tiberon,” she replied in a professional tone. “Stay safe out there.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed as he gave the turian one last appraising look as he steered the woman toward the elevator. “Have a great day.”</p><p>Rhys watched them leave, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He felt helpless. Legally, there was nothing he could do if she didn’t want to talk about what had happened. In his gut, he knew he was right about the man. It didn’t sit right with him and he knew he’d overstepped a professional boundary by confronting him, but protocols be damned. He cared for Kait, perhaps more than their limited interactions with one another warranted, and he wasn’t just going to walk away and let this go. </p><p>Geana sighed, as she watched the couple get into the elevator together. The previous tension had apparently been lost on her. She gave a happy hum before ducking behind the nurses' station and pulling a vase from underneath the desk to arrange the flowers for her friend. “Wasn’t that just the most romantic thing you’ve ever seen?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Rhys growled, looking at the asari with a disgusted expression. “Real romantic. He’s a real fucking prince.”</p>
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